Ethical Issues in Empirical Studies using Student Subjects: Re-visiting Practices and Perceptions

Context: Using student subjects in empirical studies has been discussed extensively from a methodological perspective in Software Engineering (SE), but there is a lack of similar discussion surrounding ethical aspects of doing so. As students are in a subordinate relationship to their instructors, such a discussion is needed. Objective: We aim to increase the understanding of practices and perceptions SE researchers have of ethical issues with student participation in empirical studies. Method: We conducted a systematic mapping study of 372 empirical SE studies involving students, following up with a survey answered by 100 SE researchers regarding their current practices and opinions regarding student participation. Results: The mapping study shows that the majority of studies does not report conditions regarding recruitment, voluntariness, compensation, and ethics approval. In contrast, the majority of survey participants supports reporting these conditions. The survey further reveals that less than half of the participants require ethics approval. Additionally, the majority of participants recruit their own students on a voluntary basis, and use informed consent with withdrawal options. There is disagreement among the participants whether course instructors should be involved in research studies and if should know who participates in a study. Conclusions: It is a positive sign that mandatory participation is rare, and that informed consent and withdrawal options are standard. However, we see immediate need for action, as study conditions are under-reported, and as opinions on ethical practices differ widely. In particular, there is little regard in SE on the power relationship between instructors and students.